


Beyond Eternity

by faerieMagic07



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies), Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: F/M, Survival, Survival in Space, Wilderness Survival
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-08-30
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:13:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/faerieMagic07/pseuds/faerieMagic07
Summary: Sarek and Amanda continue to survive on the planet for which they were trapped. Relying on each other may have forged a new relationship dynamic that both parties seem reluctant to accept. Inevitably, by mere random chance, their destinies have changed and there was nothing they could do to turn back the clock. They were drawn to each other and locked by their own wills.
Relationships: Amanda Grayson/Sarek
Comments: 10
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This work is a fanfiction of a fanfiction. I tried to make it an original fanfiction but I've been in it too deep that it is now impossible, so now it seems that it would stay that way.
> 
> I'm not as good a writer as TomFooleryPrime. It's just that after I read her story "Between Now and Eternity" I got a bad case of Earth-porn fever. Or Arg-117p-porn fever since that was the name of the planet they were stranded in. Then there's that rich complicated relationship dynamics between two strangers who owe each other their lives. He would certainly allow her some liberty closer to himself albeit their relationship is platonic, her being his survival partner.
> 
> I apologize in advance for ruining it with bad writing. If you want to visit the original beautiful story, you can find it here:
> 
> fanfiction.net/s/12787345/1/Between-Now-and-Eternity  
> https://archiveofourown.org/works/13259316/chapters/30334329
> 
> So all you need to know is that this fanfiction assumes Between Now and Eternity Story up until they found another escape pod and went back to their main camp. It goes AU from there. They don't get off-planet because the deuterium fuel was not enough. You probably need to read that story first before you enjoy this fic.
> 
> PS. I've no beta. This is probably going to be a messy fic.
> 
> PPS. I don't own Startrek or Arg-117p. They belong to CBS and TomFoolery respectively.

**Arg-117P: Day 90**

Winter season has hit its hardest punch. It had been four days now since the full-blown blizzard outside had started. They couldn't access the door hatch of their escape pod because it was now buried with snow. Fireplace outside was buried too, along with the firewood which meant there was no chance of getting warm by fire.

They turned on the heat, setting it to the lowest temperature they could tolerate as much as possible. More weather like this and their power supply might not get them through winter.

The food supply was also faring the same. After two months of winter, food foraged from the planet were all gone. Day after day they made it last longer but the winter days seem to stretch on indefinitely. They were now at the mercy of the rations. Rations were down to 54 units, one ration per day, and there were still 60 days to go before the salvation of spring. 

_Always winter but never Christmas._ Those were the worst places. 

Another escape pod came hurtling down from the sky which had the probability of carrying 40 more life-saving rations. It was too risky to travel there with these unpredictable blizzards. Even so, they will have to go as soon as the storm let up. 40 rations could be stretched into 20 days if both of them continue to eat only one. Which means they will only have to worry about 20 more days before winter is over.

The storm ended the next day but it took another three for the snow that kept them buried to melt to get them free to open the hatch. Thankfully, even the pale winter sun, was enough to get it melted. 

Then they had to push back against the frozen hatch. It wouldn't come off at first. Amanda's foreboding grew when it look longer and longer to open the latch. Every time they try another failed attempt, the feeling that they may be stuck inside forever grew. But Sarek heated up the pod warmer, and the door hatch finally broke. 

Momentary happiness of being free was dampened by the bitter frost when her face made contact with the outside air. The moment Amanda got out of the pod, she wanted to do nothing more but go back inside. But Sarek was behind her so she pushed forward with great effort. The frost was like tiny knives to her skin, But the heavy coat that she wore seems to have blunted its edge. For a time.

It was just one trouble after another.

Their rucksacks were already ready days before and filled with food that could last them each for four days. So they set off on the cold winter snow without no further delay. Walking further and further away from the pod provided her no comfort.

Thick snow carpeted the ground making their steps barely have any sound. An occasional scruffling of the Rikki-Tikki would dart on the surface. It was a welcome change from the flat white stretched before her that seem to go on and on. Just when Amanda thought she was already slightly enjoying herself, small snowflakes began to fall.

She was in denial at first. It was just a few flakes. But she twirled her scarf around her more and tucked it on its edges.

 _Please stop falling, please stop falling._ A few flakes turned into sprinkles. After ten more minutes, they found themselves in the middle of a heavy snowfall. And this time, there was no pod near yet to give them relief. 

That night, they bivouacked in the open moor. There were no trees to shield them from the night wind. Amanda huddled closer to the fire for warmth. Amanda pulled the tab to her ration pack and made the most of the hot steam it provided. 

The hot food warmed her stomach. From all the food deprivation she's been experiencing, the feel of the food warming her seems to give her a near orgasmic joy. It didn't last long.

The fire crackled healthily away from the harsh wind. She tried to warm her hands by the hot sides but even though it seems to warm a big surface of her hands, it did not seem to provide any relief for long. After about an hour of enduring the cruel cold, Amanda couldn't take more of it. 

"Listen," Amanda finally spoke, decorum making way for survival. "This won't do."

"Are you voicing out another set of complaints to factors which we already anticipated to encounter?"

"Let me finish. Look," said Amanda, gulping. "We're both freezing. If we don't act fast, hypothermia might get us faster. But there is another way to produce heat." She looked at everywhere except Sarek. Amanda had the impression that Vulcans would have faced death better than do what she was suggesting. But then again, it was not as if they just did not do the unthinkable during his high Pon Farr.

"What do you suggest?"

"I suggest we snuggle," said Amanda, but it came out as a whisper.

"Could you reiterate what you had just said?"

That was the closest thing Sarek could say that meant 'really?' 

"We could sleep back-to-back," said Amanda. "It's one of the survival tactics humans do during winter. It will prevent the heat from escaping our bodies."

Sarek went silent for a moment. 

"Sarek?" she prompted.

"Yes," he said finally. "That seems a feasible solution."

Amanda stared at him daring him to do the first move. Finally, she sighed. Sarek might have agreed, but he would never be the one to venture out and do it. She contemplated first if she would just let him freeze a bit more until her conscience got the better of her or he finally gets some sense of logic and kicks useless dignity aside, but she was far too merciful for that. So she stood up.

The moment she stood up, Sarek also stood. So they were locked in a checkmate where none of them would make a move.

"Should I-"

"Would it be appropriate-"

"No, I should move to your side. It looks cosier."

"I concur."

Finally, after a few more awkward blunders, she slipped inside his sleeping bag. She opened the zipper of her own sleeping bag and placed it on top of both of them. The two blankets now covering their body offered a higher degree of relief than just one. They lay with each other's back against each other. The moment she touched Sarek's back, she sighed in relief. "Oh heat. Finally."

"I should have suggested this sooner," muttered Amanda under her breath.

"I agree." He heard. Vulcan ears. 

"You do?!" When she heard Sarek sigh, she explained. "I mean, You think this is a good idea? I had thought you would not think of doing this no matter how desperate. You always seem to sleep as far away from me as possible." Sarek could not see her face, but he could still sense a hint of bitterness in it.

"I am amenable to the idea. As I am not a resident of a planet that experiences winter, I have no technique such as this is my information arsenal. You are freezing also and in the same danger of hypothermia. This is the right cause of action before our temperature goes down dangerously. Why have you not spoken sooner?"

"Well if it wasn't for you Vulcanizing everything, I might have."

"Can you clarify the meaning of your last sentence?" said Sarek.

"Nothing. It's not important."

"I defer to your judgement."

They pressed against each other quite comfortably when Amanda spoke again.

"Um, Sarek?"

"Yes?"

"Are you still awake?"

"As you may surmise."

"I noticed your hands are cold. Will you let me help you?"

"Will you consent?" Amanda spoke again. She knew now touching the hand of a Vulcan was a crime without permission. And as he respected her autonomy to the point of death, it was reasonable to extend the same.

"Yes," he finally said.

She turned to face him and to press her front body back to his back. Then her hands trailed below to touch his hands. The first thing she noticed was that it was ice-cold. The next thing was that he wasn't. 

There was a tiny flicker when their hands touched. It immediately stopped when their hands parted. Amanda gasped. Sarek hesitated and drew back his hand, but Amanda gripped it again before he could fully wrench it out. 

"No. Your hands are too freezing to leave well alone."

The intense fire of passion flowed again. It was not just sparks now. It was electric, and it seeped through all corners of her being. "Why didn't you tell me?" said Amanda, actually quite shocked that he held such passion underneath his fingers.

"I do not know what it is precisely I should not be telling you."

"That you are still on Pon Farr."

"Amanda," he said slowly, "It is no longer my Pon Farr."

Amanda fell silent.

"I do not intend to make you uncomfortable," he said after a while.

"Me too. I'm making you uncomfortable."

Her amalgam of conflicting emotions was hard to read. Sarek concluded that it was a warm platonic concern for his well-being and nothing more.

"Thank you," she said afterwards when she found her tongue, trying to back paddle and save the awkward conversation she opened about his Ponn Farr. Gratefulness. Contentment.

"To which of the things I did are you expressing your gratitude?"

"To all of them."

She heard Sarek say "Illogical" before she finally fell asleep. 

.oOo.

The next day proved more tolerable than the last. Amanda cut some edible tree bark, chopped it to small length and added it to one ration pack which they shared. A half ration of food with a generous supplement of the bark proved to be more sustaining than a full ration. When they finally set forward after their breakfast, wider trees started to appear and it proved to be a marginal shield from the strong wind.

Sarek suddenly stopped on his tracks. 

"What's wrong?" she said, stopping beside him. His lips were pursed. She followed his gaze up to the mountain and saw a giant swirling hurricane farther away from the mountain-top. The tricorder that Sarek was tweaking was suddenly beeping dangerously red with its weather prediction. The numbers were rapidly rising higher. Amanda caught the number 152km/h before it went up to 258km/h and still it climbed and beeped higher and higher.

Amanda didn't need to be told twice. Suddenly they were running and running, as fast as they can to find any kind of resemblance to a shelter. If the storm hit and they were still out in the open, it might blow them like paper dolls.

Sarek would stop by a hollow among the trees, then shake his head and continue on. 

"Tricorder detected a cave deep enough for shelter but it's 0.63 Kilometer far. I am trying to determine if a shallower one will do," Sarek spoke hurriedly as they ran.

"We'll just have to make a run for it!" said Amanda.

No matter how fast Amanda ran, it was impossible to look like she was actually having speed. Her coat was thick and the snow was slowing her down. She was in one of her nightmares where running was slow no matter how much she pushed forward.

She blinked, the sky grew dark and the mountain that looked like the Devil's doom because of its darkness was no longer there. It was because it was now all around them. But there was no shelter. All the trees around them were small and ill-equipped to block them from the wind. They have to keep moving forward.

4 minutes, 0.47 Kilometers later, small ice particles began to fall. Not yet dangerous in size but if it was any indication to what was more to come, then she had no intention of staying anymore in the open. The wind blew sharp. Even with their winter jackets, it was cold. Whatever skin exposed without any covering was colder. They could hardly see each other now. 

She can only vaguely hear Sarek shouting her name. And her, replying "I'm here!" as loud as she could. Her hand was grabbed and she was pulled and urged forward. 

"Climb up!" Sarek was shouting against the wind. He was also pushing her upwards to climb uphill.

She caught a fleeting glance at the tricorder. 47 meters, not far now. 43 meters. It doesn't seem to be moving no matter how much she walked on. The Blizzard raged. 39 meters, just a few more steps. No. It was an upward climb. 39 meters in a flat was different from 39 meters on a climb. One more heavy heave up and then another. She held on to the vines or anything else she could grab, for her dear life. Upward and upward they went.  
Then Sarek slipped. Another hell broke loose.

"Sarek!" she shrieked below her. She couldn't see him at all.

"Amanda, go to the caves!"

"Are you alright?!"

"My ankle is damaged. Move to the caves!"

Crazy Vulcan! If he wanted me to move up, he should never have mentioned his ankle. A moment later, a rope dangled beside him in defiance.

"Put that around you and around your two legs! Distribute your weight. I'm going to help pull you up by a rock as a lever!"

"Amanda! The storm!" he seemed angry.

"I'm not leaving here until you move!"

Illogical human. He did as she instructed. Then with the help of her rope, his good feet, and a great deal of pain from his bad one, they managed to pull him up to her. She immediately hugged him.

Relief, Joy radiated from her when he touched her. They somehow managed the few meters of the climb. They were finally in the cave. She drew a deep breath revelling on the feeling of lesser cold prickling her lungs. 

Upon reaching inside, dropped her bag unceremoniously to the floor to look for the bone-knitter, grabbed Sarek's leg and set to work.

"Do you," she started, her words coming out as deep pants, "really think humans leave comrades behind to die in blizzards?"

The cave was deep enough to keep the wind out for above it. The ground was not blanketed with snow which made every stone prick her when she laid down. But it hardly made any difference now that she was used to hard stony beds. And it was a small price to pay if they were to be out of the sharp wind. They decided to camp there for the night as the storm raged again outside and it was the only thing from miles that could provide a marginal shelter from it. 

They survived a cruel snowstorm and were warm enough. It was another narrow escape. There was much to be thankful for. She shuddered to think what would have happened if they did not have the tricorder. Amanda wondered how many narrow escapes they had to go through before they were finally out of the woods. 

Outside the Blizzard raged. But they found a corner that the wind could not reach.   
Her clothes and hands and ears and chin started to thaw, then everything she wore was wet and wetter. Amanda felt cold. She gripped the sleeping bag to her tighter. She took her clothes off and moved closer to the fire. 

She was sweating. She was feverish. It might be just the warm fire. She was hot, cold, shivery, and hungry, but she didn't want to eat. A few more minutes, and there was no more denying it. She finally admitted to herself: she was sick. She could see Sarek looking into her, calling her name. Everything else was a blur. A hypospray bit her neck and she knew no more.

.oOo.

Amanda opened her eyes the next morning. The storm was gone. It just passed them and quickly went away. By the looks of it, the recorded 352km/hour speed did not happen to them. They were only positioned on its fringes. Only the hairs of the violent storm reached them. She looked over to Sarek to greet him good morning. Her words stopped in her lips when he saw his form.

Sarek was shivering in his sleeping bag. He was sweating. Something was wrong. Amanda felt his forehead. He was burning. He mumbling to himself some mixed Vulcan and Standard phrases.

She didn't understand the Vulcan.

She looked for the anti-infection hypospray. The liquid inside was all gone. 

"Sarek? Why is the medicine all gone?!" she shrieked.

"Administered...to you... last night... you were... burning... dying," he whispered. 

"And you didn't think about saving up for yourself?! You had a broken ankle for heaven's sake!"

"Amanda... T'hy'la...Would not let you die..." he mumbled further. 

Crazy Vulcan. She took off her sleeping bag and draped it over him. She wrapped him up like a cocoon, then blazed the fire on daytime. For the next hour, she was frantic. She took hold of the laser-cutter and cut the nearest tree to hurried logs, praying for the equipment not to go empty on her too. Vulcans were strong, resilient. But they do not do cold. 

For their ration packs, she took one spoon and nothing more. The rest, she fed to Sarek. Then she was out in the forest again brandishing her tricorder from tree bark tree bark, looking for something that contained aspirin-like medicinal properties. When she found a hit, she cut it and boiled it then quickly fed it to her ward. 44mg Vitamin C content. 32mg anti-bacterial. It was not like the hypospray but it was better than nothing.   
She went back 

And all the time he was mumbling incoherently.

 _"T'hy'la, be with me...Nam-tor k' e,"_ he said when she went away from his side to tend to the fire.

"Shhh... don't talk. Don't waste your breath," she got back and whispered to him in his frenzied state. She hugged him on the side in spite of all his blankets and lay her head to his neck then cried the night. "Don't leave me, Sarek. Don't leave me here alone. Don't die on me."  
His hands moved a fraction to take hold of her hand that was near his lap. His hands were hot coals. Through his laboured breathing, he was trying to offer comfort to her distress. She didn't let go.

.oOo.

She opened her eyes the next day to find her blanket draped back to herself. Sarek was standing near the entrance of the cave.

"Sarek? Sarek! You're alive!" she rushed over to embrace him. He was warm and breathing and solid. She caught a whif of his shirt of something that reminded her of sweet pine wood.

"Yes, I am well."

She looked up to him. "You should not have used up all the hypospray on me," she admonished.

"And you should not have waited for me to climb up and put yourself in unnecessary danger," he said steely.

Then came their conversation that consisted entirely of pursed lips, raised eyebrows, and steady defiance. From both parties. It was cut short when her stomach began to growl.

"Have you eaten?"

She shook her head. "Not since last night."

"I see. Eat the last ration pack. You have starved enough."

"No." she steeled her feet. "You've been sick."

"You are recovering also."

"You have an injured ankle," retorted Amanda.

"Alright, we will divide it by half."

"Three fourths--"

"Half."

"Fine."

"It seemed that we have finally arrived at a compromise."

"It would seem so, Mr Ambassador."

His lips quirked into an almost smile. It turned neutral half a second later. "Now that it is settled, let us have breakfast."

"Yes, let's."

It seemed to Sarek that they were more alike than they were different after all. 

That last ration was the last thing they ate before they arrived at the escape pod.


	2. Winter Shards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> for FireChildSlytherin5.  
> This chapter was posted for you.

A/N: I'm not really sure how this chapter turned out. Don't know what works and what doesn't yet. If you have time to spare, please tell me your favourite line and what you felt when you read it. Thank you for reading!

.oOo.

The last of the fruits near their main pod has already been foraged. But the forest beyond their radius was still untouched.

It seemed strange to be carrying back all these supplies but not eating them. They were to eat what they can here, in this part of the forest where they could still forage something, and leave the ration packs untouched.

Amanda proposed they stay there until they could forage all the food. Then just head back to their main pod when they had already swept it bare, just like what they did in the nearby area of their camp. There was no point in going back to their previous pod when the small, but adequate escape pod here was more than capable enough to keep them warm.

The ration packs wouldn't last all winter. In here, they can extend their lives for a few more days. And perhaps outrun it. Back in the old pod meant starvation after ration packs run out.

But there was the issue of the storms. The last time the snowstorms raged on and buried them deep, they were well inside the big pod with oxygen supplies until the snow melted and blew enough for them to get out of the hatch.

It would be different now with a small pod. The oxygen supply inside could only last for twenty days. Ten because there's two of them. What if they were buried for fifteen? The bigger escape pod had oxygen supply of 40 days before the biofilters need to process more air again.

So to remedy this, they stuck a small metal at the hatch to let natural air fill instead of turning on life-support. Those would only be reserved for an emergency blizzard. It was dreadfully cold. But they could not close the hatch's tiny little outlet because then, there wouldn't be any air.

Sarek agreed. And things started to brighten up. A little. They ate what they could forage: frozen berries crystalized it looked like rubies and emeralds, frozen nuts, and barks; a lot of barks. The rations were not to be touched when there was still an abundance of things to forage in this part of the forest. They split up to cover more area. Some days she would come back with nothing but hope that when she arrived at the camp, Sarek would be luckier, or be more probabilistic as he would put it, and have some food in his hand.

When she found something to eat, she would gather it and return to the pod in relatively high spirits. She would show it to Sarek. When at times, both of them came back empty-handed, they'd open one ration and share it quietly for their dinner. Amanda was already conditioned against touching the ration. For her, opening the box meant starvation albeit later. It was a paradox. When what she wanted was to not be hungry, she felt more hungry while eating, knowing that there wouldn't be anything to eat tomorrow. Like a sort of inverted conditioning in her brain. Then she'd be afraid to eat because she'd go hungry. Opening the ration packs only happened rarely, and mostly in the morning, where they would need more calories to burn when they were looking for food. If there was a piece of fruit no matter how small, no ration packs would be opened. The piece of fruit would do well to ward off their hunger for the night.

One day, the thing which they have been dreading finally came. The wind started to blow softly. A little while later it became a whiz. It was the tell-tale signs of another blizzard. It was fortunate that they were both near the pod when the storm came close enough to be identified.

"Amanda, get inside!" Sarek shouted across. For the first time, Sarek was dismayed that Amanda was holding on to a bunch of frozen fruits. From his viewpoint, her strides looked dragging and barely moving, but in reality, she was already running as fast as her legs and her hands holding on to the fruits could carry. Sarek mentally calculated her distance, and the storm's speed, along with the probabilities before he sprinted to her direction.

He grabbed her hand and dragged her back to their little pod.

Sarek timed it perfectly. His eyes never left the tricorder, and his hands held on to the opening. They were taking a risk being buried in this snow with only ten days of life-support. Finally, when the wind was already too strong it might blow off the top hatch, he closed the latch. The automatic life support came to life the moment it locked with the lid. The timer for the oxygen supply started its countdown. Their vigil had begun.

He turned the oxygen supply at 80%. The timer for the oxygen time climbed higher to 12.5 days. They were to sleep if they can since they would use less oxygen when sleeping. They were to avoid talking or moving too much. Amanda scooted beside Sarek to keep herself warm. Then she lay the thick blanket atop them.

A human could not expect to hold such a position without causing mischief. At exactly 35 hours and 24.67 minutes, she finally cracked and started singing. Softly at first, it was almost as if whispering to herself. Until it grew when she thought a louder singing noise was no longer awkward. Sarek swerved his head to look at her.  
And still, the blizzard blew. The blizzard blew. They could hear its blowing sound. Amanda would gaze out of the window. It was almost beautiful. If it weren't trying to kill them.

The next day, the snow piled up and up to the window. In a few more hours, Amanda would no longer be able to see the outside whirlwind swirl. And it was causing her distress.

"Sarek, the blizzard. It's going to burry us to death."

"No, it will not."

But it didn't make her any less uneasy.  
Amanda was quite surprised when an arm draped around her shoulders.

"What are you doing?"

"Endeavoring to increase your serotonin hormone for you to have a higher sense of security." He did not tell her how it was a calculated risk. For it worked both ways. Touching her would also increase his serotonin levels and set the gears of the hormones further connecting Amanda with increased serotonin production. And the cycle would spiral and repeat itself until the thought pattern of an attraction that he was reluctant to form is already too strong to cut. A bond would form. Like a small brook slowly making into an unstoppable crashing river. No matter. If he watches it most carefully, he would prevent it from going deeper and wider. That way there would not be any adverse psychological strains.

But just like any other drugs and enchantments, the more that Sarek does not notice its production, the more potent it has become. Until there would come a time he can no longer live without those chemicals. He would be well beyond saving.

"Thank you."

"It would not be beneficial to have you mentally breakdown from under our current circumstances," he rationalized. It was borne out of need.

"I see," she said quietly. "Helping me was only logical. Like when I held the rope to you instead of going to the shelter alone."

"No, it was not. You should have gone ahead." The words formed on his mouth on its own accord. Part of his brain must have noticed how illogical it was. For to not save himself would also mean Amanda would die. This alone would have served as a red flag for Sarek to cease and desist. It was a red flag to tell him his brain had gone on auto-pilot. On emotions. Amanda must live. Even at the cost of his life. But he was far too gone in the rabbit hole to notice. Falling. Falling. And so he denied its existence.

"Sarek, you could have died!"

"So could you."

She would have argued more but the snow rose higher and she shivered anew.

"Do not worry. Being buried in the snow will be the same as being in space. The pod will keep us safe."  
The snow rose steadily up until she could no longer see anything from the window but white. They were now officially buried. She tried to console herself that it made no difference because even if they weren't she would not have been able to go out anyway. But only Vulcans could logic away phobia. Her mind refused to calm down despite all her explanations that it was relatively safe.

Her concerns may have something to do with the fact that Sarek only turns on the heater once in a while. When he turns it on, the energy from the deuterium goes one degree lower. Amanda watched the battery levels blink.  
Sarek sensed her distress. In efforts to keep her mind staring at the window, Sarek told her stories from Vulcan. There was this girl, T'Maleth wanted to go to the stars. She was in love with T'Leva. T'Leva did not want to see the stars. But T'Maleth promised she would come back when his time came.

But T'Maleth's ship was stranded in the one Centauri Alpha quadrant. When T'Leva's time came, he would have no other mate, so he died. It was said that up until now, T'Maleth was still trying to get home to T'Leva. And that one day, they would meet among the stars.

"What a romantic Romeo and Juliet story," Amanda exclaimed.

"The story was told to warn Vulcan children to value the logistics of survival in choosing a mate instead of putting more value and weight to emotional factors."

"And humans may argue it would be better to live only a day with a loved one than a thousand elsewhere."  
He turned the heater off. The room's temperature started dropping off again. She drew her body closer to him and wrapped the blanket more tightly to both of them. Sarek dutifully noticed it took her focus out of being buried alive. So to keep the morale of the ship, he was logic-bound to tell more.

"Have you ever watched the movie Lost in Space?"

"Another Terran fiction?"

"Yes, it's very informative and entertaining."

"If I had wanted to be informed, I would peruse the journals published in that area of research. There is no need to watch a film which only has bits of information scattered about the story."

"Not everyone can crunch numbers like you."

"Pardon, I do not comprehend how a number which is an abstract representation could be crunched. Does not crunch imply grinding or pulverizing a solid matter into smaller particles?"

Amanda wiped her face from exasperation.

All the time they were talking, Amanda could still hear the tell-tale signs that the blizzard was still going strong on the surface.

Outside their pod, the snow was already frozen. It was as if they had been buried by an avalanche. Day after day, Amanda looked for signs that that snow would finally thaw but there was no sign that it was ever going to relent.  
Finally, Sarek concluded they would have to use the thrusters to propel themselves upward to the surface.  
Amanda held her breath. If it doesn't work, they would be stuck inside with still no oxygen. The thrusters were turned on, the machine started making the sounds. The snow stood solid and unrelenting. Sarek gave pulse power to the thrusters in bursts. Until finally, the ice on top of them relented, and they were slowly heading upward. It was a slow and steady process, but they were making progress until finally, they were out in the open.

When they got out of the pod, Amanda smelled the cold air of winter and plopped herself to the ground. It was a pale beauty of death that stared at her when they got out. Everything glinted in the faint sun like it was coated with diamonds from the frost.

Sarek merely looked out of the window on what she was up to, then proceeded to pack the bags for another journey.

Sarek cut some thin wood to make a sort of sleigh, so they were able to strip the pod of the additional supplies they might need and carry it back by just dragging it behind them. Two ropes were tied to the plank (Amanda used the typical square knot), then tied to their waist. Both of them were expected to pull their weight. The snow was so deep they did not have a problem dragging it smoothly behind.

They packed the remaining rations to their makeshift sleigh and decided to head for the cave where they once sought shelter from the storm. It was warm enough, and the surroundings would still be teaming with things they could forage.  
The ground was flat but every now and then they would run into some branches shooting upwards. Amanda assumed they were the top of the trees. The climate here was unforgiving.

They ran into trouble when the sleigh bumped into one of the big lumps of snow. The snow shook off to reveal dried grass, mud and sticks clumped up to make a small hill. When Amanda looked inside the small hole that their sleigh accidentally created, she saw a pile of rikki-tikkis all curled up in a ball sleeping closely together. They did their best to cover the opening. Sarek was in the middle of closing it up when he head Amanda gasp.

"Sarek, look!"

Right in front of them, were more small hill holes for the rikki-tikkis. Avoiding the holes made their progress slow. Sometimes they had to lead the sleigh by their hand to avoid it from hitting anything.  
During the nights, they would camp out. Amanda would simply tie a rope from two trees then run their thermal blanket on top of it. Then she would secure the ends to the ground to make it look like a tent. They would sleep in turns to guard the food and from potential predators.

.oOo.

"Home sweet home," said Amanda when they arrived at the cave where they stayed in earlier during the winter storm. She put her bag in the corner like it was her bedside. "What's for dinner?"  
"We have some of the tree bark carvings," replied Sarek.

Amanda chose a comfortable nook to lay their blankets in. She laid out only one since they have never slept apart ever since that debacle in the snow. Sarek glanced at it and made no further inquiry. It was a sleeping arrangement borne out of mutual convenience. When winter is past, they could properly go back to sleeping separately. 

At a far side near the cave's entrance were their kitchen. There was a convenient bump on the rocks. They took advantage of this to make a makeshift stove, they only need to lay three rocks to prop up their bowl properly. 

When they come back from foraging, Amanda or Sarek would be sure to carry some firewood for it to keep ample supplies. 

"Forgive me. I am quite fatigued. I will retire for the night," said Sarek at last. Nobody said anything after that. The pod where they were last staying was not big enough to properly separate. But they had to sit and Sarek had to hold her to stop Amanda from being scared of being buried alive.

Sarek laid on his back with one of his hands on his eyes, presumably to cover it from the light of the fire. 

When she was setting up the bed a little while earlier, she didn't think much about it, but it was just naturally assumed that it had to be their sleeping arrangement. There was no question about it. But now that they were doing it, the bed loomed bigger, like an elephant in the room.

She sat there for a while, trying to contemplate what to do next. Very soon the firewood was all burnt up, and it would be illogical to use more if they were to preserve all resources. Illogical. Since when did she start using that word? In any case, there was no need to burn more firewood than necessary. She stomped the fire clean.

Amanda shivered just after a while of stamping on the fire. The cave was dark, now that there was no longer any fire to fill it with light. She found her way to the nook where their bed was located and underneath the thermal blanket, facing away, she laid down in Sarek's arm. She head fit perfectly well in the nook of his arm. When she settled herself, he faced sideways towards her and draped his other arm to draw her close to him. He laid his hand close to her shoulder so that his whole arm seems to cover her body. Amanda tugged the blanket more securely to cover them.

"Goodnight, Amanda."

"Goodnight, Sarek."


End file.
